Magician Teller’s Voice: Is He Ever Talking? Why He Doesn’t Speak

On Monday, May 18, the quarantine magic show Penn & Teller: Try This at Home is airing on The CW. The special features the magician duo Penn & Teller performing tricks and allowing viewers behind the curtain. In the Penn & Teller: Try This at Home preview, Penn said, “Welcome to our homes. We’re going to show you how to do a bunch of tricks. We’re giving away our secrets!”

Penn & Teller: Try This at Home | Special Presentaion | The CWPenn & Teller: Try This at Home airs Monday at 8/7c. Stream next day free only on The CW! SUBSCRIBE: http://go.cwtv.com/YTSubscribe About The CW: Official YouTube Channel for The CW Network featuring the hit series Riverdale, as well as Black Lightning, The Flash, Arrow, Supergirl, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Supernatural, The 100, Dynasty, In the Dark, and Roswell, New Mexico. Connect with The CW Online: Visit The CW WEBSITE: http://on.cwtv.com/home Like The CW on FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/thecw Follow The CW on TWITTER: http://twitter.com/thecw Follow The CW on INSTAGRAM: http://instagram.com/thecw Follow The CW on TUMBLR: http://cwnetwork.tumblr.com Follow The CW on PINTEREST: https://www.pinterest.com/thecw Penn & Teller: Try This at Home | Season 10 Episode 1 Promo | The CW https://www.youtube.com/TheCW2020-05-12T17:00:23Z

Penn Jillette and Teller, born Raymond Joseph Teller, met over 40 years ago, and they have been performing together for decades. They are performers at the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas, and the duo has been a part of many TV series, including Penn & Teller: Fool Us, a magician competition show that is going into its seventh season.

A centerpiece of their act is Teller remaining silent on stage. Many people may be wondering if Teller can talk at all, and if so, why he doesn’t speak while performing magic. Here’s why Teller remains silent on stage:

Teller Explained Why He Remains Silent on Stage During an Interview in 2015

Teller can talk. He explained why he doesn’t speak during performances in an interview with Google in 2015. Here is a video of the interview:

Teller explains why he remains silent on stagepenn and teller on talks at google teller explains the whole story behind his silence on stage2017-08-05T04:05:12Z

Teller shared the origin story of why he doesn’t speak during his act. He said, “When I was a teenager, I rebelled against the idea of Magic Patter because it always seemed redundant. A guy would be standing up there going ‘Here I have a red ball.’ Well, yeah.”

According to Magiczilla, “A Magician’s ‘Patter’ is their commentary as they perform a magic trick. For some tricks, the patter may be a story. With others, it may be jokes.”

In the Google interview, Teller said, “I thought it would be interesting to drop Patter so that people would have to put together what they’re looking at on their own. Nothing fools you better than the lie you tell yourself. So if I say, ‘Here is a perfectly ordinary pack of cards,’ you’re going to mistrust me.”

While making a card shuffling gesture, Teller continued, “If I hand you the cards and you shuffle them, then you’ll believe that’s a real pack of cards, even if it’s fake.”

Teller decided to not speak during performances partly because he didn’t want to do “redundant” Magic Patter and partly because he believes that without speaking, he can make his magic act even more convincing.

During the 2015 interview with Google, Teller said, “Eventually, working with Penn all these years, what I’ve discovered is there’s something absolutely incredible that happens when you don’t talk. Everything becomes very intimate because you’re looking at them, they’re looking at you, and that intimacy is really thrilling to me.”

Teller Spoke Publicly at the San Diego Comic-Con in 2011

Although Teller doesn’t speak while performing, he isn’t shy about speaking at fan events. He briefly spoke at the San Diego Comic-Con in 2011. Penn and Teller were taking part in the event to promote their six-part series Penn & Teller: Tell a Lie.

The show aired in 2011 and as per the official IMDB page for Penn & Teller: Tell a Lie, “In every episode Penn and Teller present a number of stories. All but one are true, it’s up to the viewers to guess which story is false.”

Here is the video:

Penn & Teller Tell A Lie – Teller Speaks!Tune in Wednesdays @ 10PM E/P | For more, visit http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/penn-and-teller-tell-a-lie/#mkcpgn=ytdsc1 | Teller lays out a few of the claims that will be featured on the show.2011-10-07T18:00:00Z

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